Shloka 17
सौप्तिकपर्व — धृष्टद्युम्नसारथिवृत्तान्तः
Report of the Night Raid and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament
रथद्वदं शरवर्षोर्मिमन्तं रत्नाचितं वाहनवाजियुक्तम् | शक्त्यूष्टिमीनध्वजनागनक्रं शरासनावर्तमहेषुफेनम्
sūta uvāca |
rathahradaṁ śaravarṣormimantaṁ ratnācitaṁ vāhanavājiyuktam |
śaktyṛṣṭimīna-dhvaja-nāga-nakraṁ śarāsanāvarta-maheṣuphenam ||
द्रोणाचार्य मानो महासागर थे—रथ उसका सरोवर, बाण-वर्षा उसकी उठती तरंगें; रत्नजटित आभूषण उसके निधि-रत्न; रथ-घोड़े समुद्री अश्व; शक्ति-ऋष्टि मछलियाँ; ध्वज नाग और मगर; धनुष भँवर और महाबाण फेन। ऐसे द्रोण-समुद्र को छोटे-बड़े नाना शस्त्रों की नौका बनाकर जो पार गए थे, वे ही राजकुमार आगे चलकर असावधानी से मारे गए।
सूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of pramāda (heedlessness): even warriors capable of crossing overwhelming peril in open battle can be destroyed when vigilance and restraint lapse. Martial prowess alone is not sufficient; alertness and right conduct remain decisive.
The narrator (Sūta) uses an extended ocean metaphor to describe Droṇa’s formidable presence in battle—chariots, arrows, bows, and weapons become features of a raging sea. He then contrasts that past triumph with the later killing of princes who, despite surviving such a ‘Drona-ocean,’ were slain when they became careless.